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Even if you prefer iOS, Google Play Music is still a solid option for getting your personal library and access to streaming all in one place. That is, until Apple reveals its plans for Beats Music. While we wait for that announcement, though, Mountain View's tune-minded app does double duty nicely, and now it properly outfits the iPad. The new version comes with a fresh coat of Material Design, of course, but you'll still have to contend with Google's rather frustrating method for uploading files. If you haven't already been prompted to update, the latest is now available over at iTunes.

It's official: OneDrive is getting a whole lot more musical. And like we reported last year, it's going to operate a whole lot like Google Play Music. When's the magic start? Sometime later this year, according to Microsoft's Joe Belfiore.

Google Play Music was absent from T-Mobile's Music Freedom options... until now. After a public vote to see who should be next, Mountain View's streaming library will no longer gobble your data on the UnCarrier's network. Google's music service is among 14 others, including Xbox Music and SoundCloud, that won't count against that monthly allowance when you're in need of some tunes on-the-go. Of course, Spotify, Rdio, Pandora and ten others were already given the free pass, so with the recent additions, that total now tallies 27 in all. The full list of today's additions awaits on the other side of the break.

You know how there were hints that Google Play Music was about to get a Material Design makeover? As it turns out, that's just a small piece of what's in store. Google has updated its Play Music Android, iOS and web apps with a new Listen Now page that focuses on context-aware music stations from the company's recent acquisition, Songza. Provided you're an All Access subscriber, you'll get to stream curated playlists that fit the time of day and your likely activities -- you may get relaxing playlists to take the edge off your commute home, or uptempo tracks for morning exercise. The page also improves discovery with cards that suggest both new releases and stations based on what you like. Google's redesign should be available today in all 45 Play Music countries, so have at it if you're an avid listener.

You may remember that Google Play Music All Access on Android briefly got public playlist searching back in August, only to lose the option a short while later. Well, it's back -- and this time, it appears to be here to stay. Much like Spotify, the update Play Music app now lets you find others' carefully curated mixes and stream them on the spot. If you need a ready-made party playlist or just want to find out what your friends are listening to, you only have to visit the playlists section and start typing. The feature may take a while to hit your phone, but Android Policehas a download if you can't wait to check out others' tastes in tunes.

Google's Chromecast dongle is, first and foremost, a cheap piece of hardware for flinging video from various devices to the biggest screen in your home. It makes sense, then, that you should also be able to stream music to your TV just as easily -- not everyone has a dedicated audio setup or convenient ways to connect to one wirelessly, after all. There's plenty of music on YouTube, of course, but Rdio, Pandora and Google's own Play Music are the only high-profile music services to include Chromecast support so far. Streaming outfit Deezer (which still doesn't operate in the US) is set to join those ranks tomorrow when it updates its Android and iOS apps. Multiple users will even be able to connect to the same dongle and fight over who has the worst taste. There is one catch to streaming through Chromecast, however: you'll need a paid Premium+ account to do so, although you need one of those to use Deezer's mobile apps, anyway. No free option is a bit of a downer, but at least Deezer's made something of an effort, which is more than can be said for that other popular music streaming service.

Koushik Dutta's AllCast app can stream media to seemingly any set-top box you might own, but it hasn't let you stream to (most) Android devices. Today, though, that barrier has come down: Dutta has released AllCast Receiver, an app that turns any supporting Android gadget into a streaming target. You can now send video to a tablet for more comfortable viewing, for example, or mirror your screen to walk someone through an unfamiliar app. To top it off, AllCast itself has received an update that will stream Google Play Music to other hardware, provided you get root OS access on the host device first. Whether or not you're willing to take that risk, you'll definitely want to grab the newer apps if AllCast is your go-to content sharing tool.

If you're a Google Play Music fan and have been limping along with the iPhone version on your iPad, you may already have the big-screen version without knowing it. That's because the iPad bits are already baked in to the iPhone app, according to 9to5 Mac. In fact, you can even activate it now just by changing a setting called "UIDeviceFamily" from 1 to 2, though your iPad will need to be jailbroken (which is currently impossible on iOS 7.1.x). Google Play Music has been a success since it launched on the iPhone in November -- likely helped by a month of free music -- so a pending app redesigned for the iPad's larger screen wouldn't be a surprise. In fact, when contacted by 9to5, a Google rep thought the app was already out, meaning it might just be awaiting the nod from Apple.

Canadians are used to getting short shrift on internet media services compared to their American neighbors -- just ask them how little Netflix content they get. They're receiving better treatment today, though, as Google Play Music has finally arrived in the true North strong and free. You can now can set up web-based access, store music in an online locker, shop for tunes and sign up for an All Access subscription at $10 CAD per month ($8 if you register by June 30th). It's not a perfect launch; you need to clear the Android app's cache to see the new services, and you won't find the iOS app just yet. It's early goings, then, but it's clear that Canucks now have a major alternative to the handful of big-name music services that operate in their country, including iTunes and Rdio.

Update: Sure enough, Google Play Music for iOS has reached the Canadian App Store.

Google's mobile-streaming tech has a lot going for it, but listening to music stored in Mountain View's cloud is still limited to a handful of home devices. AirPlay-compatible gadgets, however, are a probably a bit more common than the Nexus Q, Chromecast and Sonos systems are, and developer doubleTwist's latest project acts as a bridge between the two ecosystems. The outfit recently released "AirPlay for Android," which is exactly what it sounds like: the tweak open's the search giant's media-streaming to AirPlay devices. The rub is that your device running Google's mobile OS has to be rooted for the hack to work. First, grab and install the aforementioned APK from the dev's blog, launch Google Play Music (GPM) and hit the Cast button. From there, you need to grant root access to the app, force-stop it and then relaunch. Voila! AirPlay devices on your wireless network should populate the list of compatible targets.

Let's face it, as cool as Sonos is, that Android app is ugly. You should definitely be rolling with the beta version. The new (and much cleaner, and less blue) look isn't the big news though. That honor goes to the addition of Google Play Music to the list of streaming options you can enjoy from the Android app. Starting today, you'll be able to access any music you've added to Google's cloud service, plus all the music in the world (well, not quite, but a lot of it) if you're fully paid up with All Access. There's one more significant change to the world of Sonos today, and that's the ability to stream music directly within the Play app to your hardware. The option will be under the same streaming button as if you were sending it to a Chromecast. So you might find yourself skipping that new slick controller app altogether. We're no clairvoyants, but expect to see even more music services getting the same native support in the very near future.

Google has finally enabled uploading tracks to its Play Music service through a browser, but for now, you'll need to flip the switch yourself. In the Labs section of the menu, there's an option for Google Play Music for Chrome. Ticking the appropriate box will allow for both drag-and-drop and manual song additions without the need to use that less than stellar Music Manger. Clicking the "Add Music" button at the top of the UI will also give you the option to choose folders that you'd like synced automatically. There's also a mini player that can be accessed by clicking the arrow at the bottom right of the web app and the ability to download songs, albums and playlists directly from the web has been tacked on, too. All of the new features are powered by Google's Chrome Apps and Native Client tech. What's more, the folks in Mountain View have also added Info Cards to Movies and TV shows for added details on the actors in a particular scene. Of course, the selection you're watching has to enable the feature for it to be available when you press pause on a mobile device. We've included a handy GIF after the break for a quick look at how it works.

Sounds like Google's been busy cutting international licensing deals, because the company's just expanded its Play Movies and Music services to a huge bunch of countries. Between the two, the latter touts the longer list, as the Play Movies & TV Android app has been updated to work in 37 new locations across the globe. These include the Netherlands, Venezuela and Rwanda, as you can see in the roster (that Android Police spotted on Google Play's support page) posted after the break. While residents in all these countries can watch movies they've bought or rented from Google, TV shows are still only limited to people living in the US, the UK, Australia and Japan.

If you thrive on Google Play Music's radio stations but would love if they kept playing while you're away from an internet connection, congratulations -- Google has just granted your wish. An Android app update rolling out today lets you pin whole stations to your device, guaranteeing a fresh set of tunes when you're on that WiFi-less flight. The upgrade also allows you to remotely manage the devices that can access your collection, and a "play next" command will queue up a song that you just have to hear. The new Play Music software doesn't appear to be widely available just yet, but those who refuse to wait can download the installer from Android Police.

It's no surprise that Google has been tracking music uploads, but what's unexpected is exactly what the search giant is doing with all of that info. Interactive maps of music's ongoing journey are charted through Play Music's users' libraries, found over on Google's Research Blog. You could, for example, trace the ebb and flow of a genre era by era (rock remains one of the biggies while electronica's presence is relatively new), or even identify which release from a band is the most prominent. Looking at the Deftones, their biggest album is 2000's White Pony, and they're near the top of the alt-metal heap overall. Music nerds could lose a few days poring over the various ins and outs of the soundtrack to their lives, so be careful who you share this with. Perhaps best of all, Google says this likely won't be the last collaboration we see between the research and music teams.

Right now if you want to upload your stash of tunes to Google Play Music, you have to download Music Manager, an application that hooks into your computer's hard drive so that you can transfer selected audio files to Mountain View's storage cloud. But what if you don't want to download yet another piece of software on your already bursting hard drive, or you just want to upload a few songs from a friend's computer without having to get the app? Well, according to an eagle-eyed tipster of the unofficial Google system blog, you might be able to upload songs directly from the browser in the not-too-distant future. The source code in Google Play Music apparently suggests this via a dialog description text that reads "Drag songs or folders here to add music to your library. Or, if you prefer, select from your computer." While we're not sure if Google will actually implement browser uploads for its Music service, the line of code indicates the search giant is at least considering the idea. If you're a regular Google Play Music user, sound out in the comments below if this would be a welcome feature.

Germany's something of a latecomer to Google's Play Music All Access party (that name, we know!). The country that made David Hasselhoff a venerable pop star was conspicuously absent from the Google music service's many Europeanroll outs. Not now, however, as Google's officially made the streaming service available für das deutsche Volk. The same free 30-day trial offer still applies here, but if you stay on past that, expect to fork over €7.99/mo for the unlimited streaming access, offline storage and personalized radio. It is, as they say in German, a super good way to enjoy your music on-the-go.

Glass Explorers who weren't adventurous enough to sideload Google Play Music onto their wearable for an early taste of the app have just gotten easy access to it. Mountain View's just listed the tune player on the MyGlass application and in the Glassware section of its companion website. Once the app is set to "On," Glass will automatically download the software and unlock a new "listen to" command. By wielding the magic words users can speak to pull up albums, artists, playlists and songs they've uploaded to the service and those available through Google Play Music All Access. We took the app for a spin and there don't appear to be any notable changes compared to the version we installed by hand. If you were one of the intrepid users who loaded up the app ahead of time, you'll have to uninstall it through the Android Debug Bridge in order to successfully score it via MyGlass. If you're itching to make the most of tune streaming on the hardware, you can grab ahold of stereo earbuds from Google designed just for the device.

If you thought the latest Glass update was designed solely to help with your schedule and commute, you'd be mistaken. The sneaky devs in Mountain View quietly added support for Google Play Music in the XE11 upgrade, laying the groundwork for a future feature announcement. After sideloading the app onto Glass, a new "listen to" voice command appears on the the hardware's home screen, a feature that Glass head of Marketing Ed Sanders tells USA Today it is "important to have" for the headset. Right on time, the Glass team has posted a new Explorer Story video featuring music producer Young Guru explaining how Glass can help him discover new sounds to sample, showing off playback and the existing Android Sound Search feature.

By uttering the new phrase and speaking the name of an album, artist, playlist or song, the company's guinea pigs can listen to tunes they've uploaded to Google Play Music or those available through All Access, provided they have a subscription. Once a user confirms their choice and the music starts, a card with album art and playback controls (Pause, Play, Previous, Next, Stop, Radio and Volume) is pinned to the wearable's timeline. As you might imagine, the audio quality through the bone conduction speaker isn't spectacular, and while the device's forthcoming earbud may offer some improvement, the foreseeable musical future of Glass Explorers is in mono.

Update: Google has informed USA Today and the New York Times that a set of earbud headphones will be available next month for $85, which you can spot in the video after the break. It also appears that the Google Play Music tricks discovered will be officially unveiled later today, and probably won't require any sideloading shenanigans.

Another week passes, another country gets Google's blessing for its music locker and streaming service. This time out, Google Play Music All Access is hitting our neighbors to the south, Mexico. Just try not to brag about how awesome streaming 20,000 songs from your cloud library is, amigos -- Canada is still getting the, ahem, cold shoulder from Mountain View.

Though RCA has slipped from electronics giant to maker of niche products, it's just announced an intriguing music streaming system that is rumored to cost $178 at Walmart, according to Android Police. The Internet Music System (has RCA fired its branding department?) features a removable Android tablet of as-yet unknown size that plays music via Bluetooth to the docking amp and speakers. Music sources can be Google Play Music and apps like Spotify, as well as CDs via a player and yes, FM radio. As a topper , it'll also stream video from the likes of Netflix and YouTube to your TV via an HDMI cable. At the above price, it might be just the device for those tired of explaining for the eighth time how to play a YouTube song through the home theater system. To see how it works, check the video after the break.

If you felt left out by the European debut of Google Play Music All Access in August, hopefully Mountain View's latest announcement brings you into the musical fold. According to Google's support page -- as spotted by Android Police -- the search giant's music locker and streaming service is now available in the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Russia and Switzerland. And given how fast European internet is, it shouldn't take you nearly as long to upload a massive music collection as it did for us stateside, either.

Mobile data caps have been the enemy of Google Play Music for quite some time, but a new update, available in the Play Store today, might provide a quick fix. By default, the service streams music at the highest quality possible on a given connection, so it wasn't always friendly to users dealing with data limits. With this update, Google is aiming to decrease the amount of overall data the app uses while providing more bandwidth usage settings. Additionally, the update boasts improved search quality and faster music downloads. Hopefully, Google will continue to work out the kinks before its forthcoming iOS All Access rollout. In the meantime, Google Play Music users can mosey on over to the source link below to download the latest version.

Google Play Music is about to reveal its saddest song... for owners of the Nexus Q that is. In fact, some might guess it's the funeral march. Phandroid and Android Police both report having received confirmation that the latest update of Google's Play Music service -- that we saw outed yesterday -- doesn't support the firm's own music streamer. A statement given to the websites confirms the fact, with little to suggest it'll get any better for the little black ball going forward. Does this signify the final nail in the coffin? Potentially. But, given that it was erased from view on the Play store some time ago, and orders never charged, you might have already guessed that outlook not so good had been the prediction for some time.

More Info

Among the worst kept secrets to be revealed during today's Google I/O keynote was Play Music All Access. Mountain View's desire to create a subscription-based music streaming service was pretty well-documented. Now it's finally here, for $9.99 a month (or $7.99 if you're an early adopter and get in on the free trial before June 30th), with at least a couple major labels on board. Of course, All Access is entering a rather crowded field -- one already dominated by heavy hitters like Spotify. We spent the afternoon getting acquainted with Google's subscription music service to see if it has what it takes to hang with more established properties. Head on past the break to see what we learned.